Davis driving range owner arrested on suspicion of evasion, theft from rival golf course

The owner of a Davis driving range faces charges of possession of stolen property and evasion after being arrested by Yolo County Sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of stealing golf balls and an all-terrain vehicle from a cross-town golf course.

According to deputies, William Smith, 42, was seen in the 25000 block of County Road 99 driving an off-road vehicle that was stolen Monday night from Wildhorse Golf Course. Smith then left the vehicle, fleeing on a different ATV, according to a Yolo County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

Deputies established a perimeter around the North Davis Meadows neighborhood, where Smith then abandoned the second ATV he was driving in the backyard of a home on Spanish Bay Place. The Sheriff’s Office said he was then located hiding nearby and was arrested. He was booked into the Yolo County Jail.

Smith is the owner of the Ranch Driving Range on County Road 99, according to a 2014 Davis Enterprise article about the facility’s opening.

Charlie Klein, the general manager of Wildhorse, told the Davis Enterprise that he first thought the loss of golf balls and other driving range equipment were the result of surrounding weeds and squirrel holes. Klein’s suspicions about the theft changed after seeing a man on the course’s surveillance video. He reported it to authorities, the Enterprise said in its Friday article.

“He’s stolen baskets, ball containers, trash cans ... and then the Gator,” Klein told the Enterprise.

Smith, however, denies stealing from Wildhorse. He said Saturday that he has a video of him elsewhere at the same time as the golf course’s 4 a.m. video surveillance. Smith also told The Sacramento Bee he has many eyewitnesses ready to confirm his alibi.

He denied all the charges and is ready to fight them in court, claiming injustice was done to him in his arrest.

“I’ve gotten a bum deal,” Smith said.

Calls to Smith’s attorney were not immediately returned.

This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 1:58 PM.